Storage device operation orchestration

ABSTRACT

Systems, apparatuses, and methods related to storage device operation orchestration are described. A plurality of computing devices (or “tiles”) can be coupled to a controller (e.g., an “orchestration controller”) and an interface. The controller can control operation of the computing devices. For instance, the controller can include circuitry to request a block of data from a memory device coupled to the apparatus, cause a processing unit of at least one computing device of the plurality of computing devices to perform an operation on the block of data in which at least some of the data is ordered, reordered, removed, or discarded, and cause, after some of the data is ordered, reordered, removed, or discarded, the block of data to be transferred to the interface coupled to the plurality of computing devices.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.16/284,273, filed Feb. 25, 2019, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to semiconductor memory andmethods, and more particularly, to apparatuses, systems, and methods forstorage device operation orchestration.

BACKGROUND

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor,integrated circuits in computers or other electronic systems. There aremany different types of memory including volatile and non-volatilememory. Volatile memory can require power to maintain its data (e.g.,host data, error data, etc.) and includes random access memory (RAM),dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM),synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and thyristor randomaccess memory (TRAM), among others. Non-volatile memory can providepersistent data by retaining stored data when not powered and caninclude NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, and resistance variablememory such as phase change random access memory (PCRAM), resistiverandom access memory (RRAM), and magnetoresistive random access memory(MRAM), such as spin torque transfer random access memory (STT RAM),among others.

Memory devices may be coupled to a host (e.g., a host computing device)to store data, commands, and/or instructions for use by the host whilethe computer or electronic system is operating. For example, data,commands, and/or instructions can be transferred between the host andthe memory device(s) during operation of a computing or other electronicsystem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram in the form of a computing systemincluding an apparatus including a storage controller and a number ofmemory devices in accordance with a number of embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram in the form of an apparatusincluding a storage controller in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is another functional block diagram in the form of an apparatusincluding a storage controller in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A is yet another functional block diagram in the form of anapparatus including a storage controller in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B is yet another functional block diagram in the form of anapparatus including a storage controller in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4C is yet another functional block diagram in the form of anapparatus including a storage controller in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram in the form of a computing tile in accordancewith a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is another block diagram in the form of a computing tile inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram representing an example method for storagedevice operation orchestration in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure includes apparatuses, systems, and methods forstorage device operation orchestration. An example apparatus includes aplurality of computing devices (or “tiles”) coupled to a controller(e.g., and “orchestration controller”) and an interface. The controllercan include circuitry to request a block of data from a memory devicecoupled to the apparatus, cause the processing unit of at least onecomputing device of the plurality of computing devices to perform anoperation on the block of data in which at least some of the data isordered, reordered, removed, or discarded, and cause, after some of thedata is ordered, reordered, removed, or discarded, the block of data tobe transferred to the interface coupled to the plurality of computingdevices.

Memory devices may be used to store important or critical data in acomputing device and can transfer such data between a host associatedwith the computing device. However, as the size and quantity of datastored by memory devices increases, transferring the data to and fromthe host can become time consuming and resource intensive. For example,when a host requests large blocks of data from a memory device, anamount of time and/or an amount of resources consumed in obliging therequest can increase in proportion to the size and/or quantity of dataassociated with the blocks of data.

As storage capability of memory devices increases, these effects canbecome more pronounced as more and more data are able to be stored bythe memory device and are therefore available to be transferred to orfrom the host. In addition, blocks of requested data can include datathat is not relevant or needed by the host. For example, in someapproaches, irrelevant data may be transferred to the host with a blockof data that includes relevant data. This can lead to a need for furtherprocessing on the host end to extract the relevant data from the blockof data, which can incur additional processing time and/or consumeadditional processing resources.

For example, in some approaches, when a block of data that includes alarge quantity of information such as a block of data that includesmultiple columns of information, all of the information included in theblock of data may be transferred to the host despite the host desiringonly certain columns of data included in the block of data. In the caseof large blocks of data, the processing time and/or resource consumptionassociated with processing the blocks of data to extract relevantinformation can become excessive, thereby reducing the efficacy of thehost or computing device.

As a non-limiting example, the host may request specific data that isstored in a database by a memory device. The host may only be interestedin in the first two columns of data from the database but not the thirdcolumn of data. In some approaches, the memory device may transfer allthree columns of data to the host and the host may perform additionalprocessing on the data to obtain only the relevant first two columns. Insuch examples, additional time, bandwidth, and/or processing resourcesmay be consumed not only in transferring an entire column of data to thehost that the host is not going to use, but also in host operations toremove the irrelevant data (e.g., the third column in this example).

In contrast, embodiments herein allow for the relevant data to beextracted from a block of data by a storage controller (e.g., bycircuitry coupled to or provided on the memory device) prior to transferof the data to the host. For example, embodiments herein can allow foroperations in which at least some of the data is ordered, reordered,removed, or discarded, to be performed on blocks of data prior to thedata being transferred to the host.

In a non-limiting example, embodiments herein can allow for filteringoperations, in which an amount of data to be transferred to the host isreduced prior to transfer of said data to the host, to be performed onblocks of data prior to the data being transferred to the host. Inrelation to the above non-limiting example, this can allow for the hostto receive only the first two columns of data (e.g., the relevant data)instead of the relevant data and the irrelevant data. This can allow fora reduction in time, bandwidth, and/or processing resources consumed notonly in transferring irrelevant data to the host, but also can reducetime, bandwidth, and/or processing resources consumed by host operationsto remove the irrelevant data in comparison to some approaches.

Similarly, embodiments herein allow for the relevant data to beextracted from a block of data by a storage controller (e.g., bycircuitry coupled to or provided on the memory device) prior to transferof the data to a memory device coupled to the storage controller. Forexample, embodiments herein can allow for operations, such as filteringoperations, in which an amount of data to be transferred to the memorydevice(s) is reduced prior to transfer of said data to the memorydevice(s), to be performed on blocks of data prior to the data beingtransferred to the memory device(s).

Embodiments are not limited to these specific examples, and in someembodiments, other operations may be performed on the data or blocks ofdata. In some embodiments, various arithmetic and/or logical operationsmay be performed on the data prior to the data being transferred to thehost. For example, arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction,multiplication, division, fused multiply addition, multiply-accumulate,dot product units, greater than or less than, absolute value (e.g.,FABS( )), fast Fourier transforms, inverse fast Fourier transforms,sigmoid function, convolution, square root, exponent, and/or logarithmoperations, and/or logical operations such as AND, OR, XOR, NOT, etc.,trigonometric operations such as sine, cosine, tangent, etc., as well asvectored I/O (e.g., gather-scatter) operations, may be performed on thedata or blocks of data prior to the data being transferred to the memorydevice(s) and/or the host.

In the following detailed description of the present disclosure,reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration how one or more embodimentsof the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art topractice the embodiments of this disclosure, and it is to be understoodthat other embodiments may be utilized and that process, electrical, andstructural changes may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

As used herein, designators such as “X,” “Y,” “N,” “M,” “A,” “B,” “C,”“D,” etc., particularly with respect to reference numerals in thedrawings, indicate that a number of the particular feature so designatedcan be included. It is also to be understood that the terminology usedherein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, andis not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” can include both singular and plural referents, unlessthe context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, “a number of,” “atleast one,” and “one or more” (e.g., a number of memory banks) can referto one or more memory banks, whereas a “plurality of” is intended torefer to more than one of such things. Furthermore, the words “can” and“may” are used throughout this application in a permissive sense (i.e.,having the potential to, being able to), not in a mandatory sense (i.e.,must). The term “include,” and derivations thereof, means “including,but not limited to.” The terms “coupled” and “coupling” mean to bedirectly or indirectly connected physically or for access to andmovement (transmission) of commands and/or data, as appropriate to thecontext. The terms “data” and “data values” are used interchangeablyherein and can have the same meaning, as appropriate to the context.

The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the firstdigit or digits correspond to the figure number and the remaining digitsidentify an element or component in the figure. Similar elements orcomponents between different figures may be identified by the use ofsimilar digits. For example, 104 may reference element “04” in FIG. 1,and a similar element may be referenced as 204 in FIG. 2. A group orplurality of similar elements or components may generally be referred toherein with a single element number. For example, a plurality ofreference elements 110-1, 110-2, . . . , 110-N may be referred togenerally as 110. As will be appreciated, elements shown in the variousembodiments herein can be added, exchanged, and/or eliminated so as toprovide a number of additional embodiments of the present disclosure. Inaddition, the proportion and/or the relative scale of the elementsprovided in the figures are intended to illustrate certain embodimentsof the present disclosure and should not be taken in a limiting sense.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram in the form of a computing system100 including an apparatus including a storage controller 104 and anumber of memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N in accordance with anumber of embodiments of the present disclosure. As used herein, an“apparatus” can refer to, but is not limited to, any of a variety ofstructures or combinations of structures, such as a circuit orcircuitry, a die or dice, a module or modules, a device or devices, or asystem or systems, for example. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1,memory devices 116-1 . . . 116-N can include a one or more memorymodules (e.g., single in-line memory modules, dual in-line memorymodules, etc.). The memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N can includevolatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. In a number of embodiments,memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N can include a multi-chip device. Amulti-chip device can include a number of different memory types and/ormemory modules. For example, a memory system can include non-volatile orvolatile memory on any type of a module.

The memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N can provide main memory for thecomputing system 100 or could be used as additional memory or storagethroughout the computing system 100. Each memory device 116-1, . . . ,116-N can include one or more arrays of memory cells, e.g., volatileand/or non-volatile memory cells. The arrays can be flash arrays with aNAND architecture, for example. Embodiments are not limited to aparticular type of memory device. For instance, the memory device caninclude RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, PCRAM, RRAM, and flash memory, amongothers.

In embodiments in which the memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N includenon-volatile memory, the memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N can beflash memory devices such as NAND or NOR flash memory devices.Embodiments are not so limited, however, and the memory devices 116-1, .. . , 116-N can include other non-volatile memory devices such asnon-volatile random-access memory devices (e.g., NVRAM, ReRAM, FeRAM,MRAM, PCM), “emerging” memory devices such as 3-D Crosspoint (3D XP)memory devices, etc., or combinations thereof. A 3D XP array ofnon-volatile memory can perform bit storage based on a change of bulkresistance, in conjunction with a stackable cross-gridded data accessarray. Additionally, in contrast to many flash-based memories, 3D XPnon-volatile memory can perform a write in-place operation, where anon-volatile memory cell can be programmed without the non-volatilememory cell being previously erased.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a host 102 can be coupled to a storagecontroller 104, which can in turn be coupled to the memory devices 116-1. . . 116-N. In a number of embodiments, each memory device 116-1 . . .116-N can be coupled to the storage controller 104 via a channel (e.g.,channels 107-1, . . . , 107-N). In FIG. 1, the storage controller 104,which includes a network on a chip 108, is coupled to the host 102 viachannel 103 and the orchestration controller 106 is coupled to the host102 via a channel 105. The host 102 can be a host system such as apersonal laptop computer, a desktop computer, a digital camera, a smartphone, a memory card reader, and/or internet-of-thing enabled device,among various other types of hosts, and can include a memory accessdevice, e.g., a processor (or processing device). One of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate that “a processor” can intend one or moreprocessors, such as a parallel processing system, a number ofcoprocessors, etc.

The host 102 can include a system motherboard and/or backplane and caninclude a number of processing resources (e.g., one or more processors,microprocessors, or some other type of controlling circuitry). Thesystem 100 can include separate integrated circuits or the host 102, thestorage controller 104, the orchestration controller 106, thenetwork-on-chip (NoC) 108, and/or the memory devices 116-1, . . . ,116-N can be on the same integrated circuit. The system 100 can be, forinstance, a server system and/or a high performance computing (HPC)system and/or a portion thereof. Although the example shown in FIG. 1illustrate a system having a Von Neumann architecture, embodiments ofthe present disclosure can be implemented in non-Von Neumannarchitectures, which may not include one or more components (e.g., CPU,ALU, etc.) often associated with a Von Neumann architecture.

The storage controller 104 can include an orchestration controller 106,a network on a chip (NoC) 108, a plurality of computing tiles 110-1, . .. , 110-N, which are described in more detail in connection with FIGS. 5and 6, herein, and a media controller 112. The computing tiles 110 canbe referred to herein in the alternative as “computing devices.” Theorchestration controller 106 can include circuitry and/or logicconfigured to allocate and de-allocate resources to the computing tiles110-1, . . . , 110-N during performance of operations described herein.In some embodiments, the orchestration controller 106 can be anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA), or other combination of circuitry and/or logicconfigured to orchestrate operations performed by the computing tiles110-1, . . . , 110-N. For example, the orchestration controller 106 caninclude circuitry and/or logic to control the computing tiles 110-1, . .. , 110-N to perform operations on blocks of received data to reduce anamount of data included in the block of data.

The orchestration controller 106 can be configured to request a block ofdata from one or more of the memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N andcause the computing tiles 110-1, . . . , 110-N to perform an operation(e.g., an operation in which at least some of the data is ordered,reordered, removed, or discarded, a filtering operation, an arithmeticoperation, a logical operation, etc.) on the block of data. Theoperation may be performed to reduce a total amount of data (e.g., anumber of bits of data) associated with the block of data. Theorchestration controller 104 can be further configured to cause theblock of data that has been operated on (e.g., a filtered block of data)to be transferred to and interface (e.g., communication paths 103 and/or105) and/or the host 102.

In some embodiments, the orchestration controller 106 can be one of theplurality of computing tiles 110. For example, the orchestrationcontroller 106 can include the same or similar circuitry that thecomputing tiles 110-1, . . . , 110-N include, as described in moredetail in connection with FIG. 4B, herein. However, in some embodiments,the orchestration controller 106 can be a distinct or separate componentfrom the computing tiles 110-1, . . . , 110-N, and may therefore includedifferent circuitry than the computing tile 110, as shown in FIG. 1.

The NoC 108 can be a communication subsystem that allows forcommunication between the orchestration controller 106 and the computingtiles 110-1, . . . , 110-N. The NoC 108 can include circuitry and/orlogic to facilitate the communication between the orchestrationcontroller 106 and the computing tiles 110-1, . . . , 110-N. In someembodiments, as described in more detail in connection with FIG. 2,herein, the NoC 108 can receive an output from the computing tiles110-1, . . . , 110-N and transfer the output from the computing tiles110-1, . . . , 110-N to the orchestration controller 106 and/or the host102, and vice versa. For example, the NoC 108 may be configured toreceive data that has been subjected to a filtering operation (or otheroperation such as an arithmetic operation, logical operation, etc.) bythe computing tiles 110-1, . . . , 110-N and transfer the filtered datato the orchestration controller 106 and/or the host 102. In someembodiments, as described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4B,herein, the NoC 108 can include at least a portion of the orchestrationcontroller 106. For example, the NoC 108 can include the circuitry thatcomprises the orchestration controller 106, or a portion thereof.

Although a NoC 108 is shown in FIG. 1, embodiments are not limited toutilization of a NoC 108 to provide a communication path between theorchestration controller 106 and the computing tiles 110-1, . . . ,110-N. For example, other communication paths such as a storagecontroller crossbar (XBAR) may be used to facilitate communicationbetween the computing tiles 110-1, . . . , 110-N and the orchestrationcontroller 106.

The media controller 112 can be a “standard” or “dumb” media controller.For example, the media controller 112 can be configured to performsimple operations such as copy, write, read, error correct, etc. for thememory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N. However, in some embodiments, themedia controller 112 does not perform processing (e.g., operations tomanipulate data) on data associated with the memory devices 116-1, . . ., 116-N. For example, the media controller 112 can cause a read and/orwrite operation to be performed to read or write data from or to thememory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N via the communication paths 107-1, .. . , 107-N, but the media controller 112 may not perform processing onthe data read from or written to the memory devices 116-1, . . . ,116-N. In some embodiments, the media controller 112 can be anon-volatile media controller, although embodiments are not so limited.

The embodiment of FIG. 1 can include additional circuitry that is notillustrated so as not to obscure embodiments of the present disclosure.For example, the storage controller 104 can include address circuitry tolatch address signals provided over I/O connections through I/Ocircuitry. Address signals can be received and decoded by a row decoderand a column decoder to access the memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N.It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the number ofaddress input connections can depend on the density and architecture ofthe memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram in the form of an apparatusincluding a storage controller 204 in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure. The storage controller 204 can beanalogous to the storage controller 104 illustrated in FIG. 1. As shownin FIG. 2, the storage controller 204 can include a media controller212, a plurality of computing tiles 210-1, . . . , 210-N, a network onchip (NoC) 208, and an orchestration controller 206.

The media controller 212 can be configured to retrieve blocks of data211 _(A)-1, . . . , 211 _(A)-N, 211 _(B)-1, . . . , 211 _(B)-N, 211_(C)-1, . . . , 211 _(C)-N, 211 _(D)-1, . . . , 211 _(D)-N, 211 _(E)-1,. . . , 211 _(E)-N from a memory device (e.g., memory device(s) 116-1, .. . , 116-N illustrated in FIG. 1) coupled to the storage controller 204in response to a request from the orchestration controller 206. Themedia controller can subsequently cause the blocks of data 211 _(A)-1, .. . , 211 _(A)-N, 211 _(B)-1, . . . , 211 _(B)-N, 211 _(C)-1, . . . ,211 _(C)-N, 211 _(D)-1, . . . , 211 _(D)-N, 211 _(E)-1, . . . , 211_(E)-N to be transferred to the computing tiles 210-1, . . . , 210-Nand/or the orchestration controller 206.

Similarly, the media controller 212 can be configured to receive blocksof data 211 _(A)-1, . . . , 211 _(A)-N, 211 _(B)-1, . . . , 211 _(B)-N,211 _(C)-1, . . . , 211 _(C)-N, 211 _(D)-1, . . . , 211 _(D)-N, 211_(E)-1, . . . , 211 _(E)-N from the computing tiles 210 and/or theorchestration controller 206. The media controller can subsequentlycause the blocks of data 211 _(A)-1, . . . , 211 _(A)-N, 211 _(B)-1, . .. , 211 _(B)-N, 211 _(C)-1, . . . , 211 _(C)-N, 211 _(D)-1, . . . , 211_(D)-N, 211 _(E)-1, . . . , 211 _(E)-N to be transferred to a memorydevice coupled to the storage controller 204.

The blocks of data 211 can be approximately 4 kilobytes in size(although embodiments are not limited to this particular size) and canbe processed in a streaming manner by the computing tiles 210-1, . . . ,210-N in response to one or more commands generated by the orchestrationcontroller 206. For example, as described in more detail in connectionwith FIGS. 5 and 6, herein, because the computing tiles 210 can processa second block of data 211 in response to completion of a process on apreceding block of data 211, the blocks of data 211 can be continuouslystreamed through the computing tiles 210 while the blocks of data 211are being processed by the computing tiles 210. In some embodiments, theblocks of data 211 can be processed in a streaming fashion through thecomputing tiles 210 in the absence of an intervening command from theorchestration controller 206. That is, in some embodiments, theorchestration controller 206 can issue a command to cause the computingtiles 210 to process blocks of data 211 received thereto and blocks ofdata 211 that are subsequently received by the computing tiles 210 canbe processed in the absence of an additional command from theorchestration controller 206.

In some embodiments, processing the blocks 211 of data can includereducing a size and/or quantity of data associated with the blocks ofdata 211. For example, the computing tiles 210-1, . . . , 211-N can, inresponse to commands from the orchestration controller 206, performoperations on the blocks of data 211 in which at least some of the datais ordered, reordered, removed, or discarded to remove unwanted data,extract relevant data, or otherwise parse the blocks of data 211 toreduce a size or quantity of data associated therewith.

In a non-limiting example, the blocks of data 211 can include one ormore comma-separated value (CSV) files. If particular strings orparticular data are desired from the CSV file(s), the orchestrationcontroller 206 can send a command to the computing tiles 210 to causethe computing tiles 210 to receive blocks of data 211 containing the CSVfiles from, for example, a memory device coupled to the storagecontroller 204. The computing tiles 210 can perform operations on theCSV file(s) to extract the relevant information, as described in moredetail in connection with FIG. 5, herein, and subsequently transfer therelevant data out of the computing tiles 210 to circuitry external tothe computing tiles 210 (e.g., to the orchestration controller 204, theNoC 208, and/or a host, such as the host 102 illustrated in FIG. 1,herein).

In another non-limiting example in which two columns of data A and B arerequested from a block of data (e.g., the block of data 211 _(A)-1)containing three columns of data A, B, and C, the block of datacontaining all three columns can be transferred to the computing tiles210 in response to a command from the orchestration controller 206. Thecomputing tiles 210 can selectively process the block of data to extractthe relevant columns (e.g., column A and column B) from the block ofdata, and can subsequently transfer the filtered data out of thecomputing tiles 210 to circuitry external to the computing tiles 210(e.g., to the orchestration controller 206, the NoC 208, and/or a host,such as the host 102 illustrated in FIG. 1, herein).

The orchestration controller 206 can be further configured to sendcommands to the computing tiles 210-1, . . . , 210-N to allocate and/orde-allocate resources available to the computing tiles 210-1, . . . ,210-N for use in processing the blocks of data 211. In some embodiments,allocating and/or de-allocating resources available to the computingtiles 210-1, . . . , 210-N can include selectively enabling some of thecomputing tiles 210 while selectively disabling some of the computingtiles 210. For example, if less than a total number of computing tiles210 are required to process the blocks of data 211, the orchestrationcontroller 206 can send a command to the computing tiles 210 that are tobe used for processing the blocks of data 211 to enable only thosecomputing tiles 210 desired to process the blocks of data 211.

The orchestration controller 206 can, in some embodiments, be furtherconfigured to send commands to synchronize performance of operationsperformed by the computing tiles 210. For example, the orchestration cansend a command to a first computing tile (e.g., the computing tile210-1) to cause the first computing tile to perform a first operation,and the orchestration controller 206 can send a command to a secondcomputing tile (e.g., the computing tile 210-2) to perform a secondoperation using the second computing tile. Synchronization ofperformance of operations performed by the computing tiles 210 by theorchestration controller 206 can further include causing the computingtiles 210 to perform particular operations at particular time or in aparticular order.

In some embodiments, the processed (e.g., the blocks of data that havebeen operated upon) blocks of data can be converted into logical records213-1, . . . , 213-N subsequent to processing of the blocks of data 211by the computing tiles 210. The logical records 213 can comprise datarecords that are independent of their physical locations. For example,the logical records 213 may be data records that point to a location inat least one of the computing tiles 210 where physical datacorresponding to the processed block of data (e.g., the block of data inwhich at least some of the data is ordered, reordered, removed, ordiscarded) is stored.

As described in more detail in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6, herein,the processed or filtered block of data 211 can be stored in a partitionof a computing tile memory (e.g., the computing tile memory 538illustrated in FIG. 5 or the computing tile memory 638 illustrated inFIG. 6) that is different than a partition in which the block of data isstored prior to processing as part of the operation to process or filterthe block of data to extract relevant data or otherwise reduce a size orquantity of bits associated with the block of data. In some embodiments,the logical records 213 can point to that location such that theprocessed or filtered data can be accessed from the computing tiles 210and transferred to circuitry external to the computing tiles 210.

In some embodiments, the orchestration controller 2026 can receiveand/or send blocks of data 211 _(E)-1, . . . , 211 _(E)-N directly toand from the media controller 212. This can allow the orchestrationcontroller 206 to transfer blocks of data 211 _(E)-1, . . . , 211 _(E)-Nthat are not processed by the computing tiles 210 to and from the mediacontroller 212.

For example, if the orchestration controller 206 receives unprocessedblocks of data 211 _(E)-1, . . . , 211 _(E)-N from a host (e.g., thehost 102 illustrated in FIG. 1) coupled to the storage controller 204that are to be stored by memory device(s) (e.g., the memory devices 116illustrated in FIG. 1) coupled to the storage controller 204, theorchestration controller 206 can cause the unprocessed blocks of data211 _(E)-1, . . . , 211 _(E)-N to be transferred to the media controller212, which can, in turn, cause the unprocessed blocks of data 211_(E)-1, . . . , 211 _(E)-N to be transferred to memory device(s) coupledto the storage controller 204.

Similarly, if the host requests an unprocessed (e.g., a full) block ofdata (e.g., a block of data that is not processed by the computing tiles210), the media controller 212 can cause unprocessed blocks of data 211_(E)-1, . . . , 211 _(E)-N to be transferred to the orchestrationcontroller 206, which can subsequently transfer the unprocessed blocksof data 211 _(E)-1, . . . , 211 _(E)-N to the host.

FIG. 3 is another functional block diagram in the form of an apparatusincluding a storage controller 304 in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure. The storage controller 304 can beanalogous to the storage controller 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 or thestorage controller 204 illustrated in FIG. 2, herein. As shown in FIG.3, the storage controller 304 can include a media controller 312, aplurality of computing tiles 310-1, . . . , 310-N, a network on chip(NoC) 308, and an orchestration controller 306.

The media controller 312 can be configured to retrieve blocks of data311 _(A)-1, . . . , 311 _(A)-N, 311 _(B)-1, . . . , 311 _(B)-N, 311_(C)-1, . . . , 311 _(C)-N, 311 _(D)-1, . . . , 311 _(D)-N, 311 _(E)-1,. . . , 311 _(E)-N and/or logical records 313 _(A)-1, . . . , 313_(A)-N, 313 _(B)-1, . . . , 313 _(B)-N, . . . , 313 _(C)-1, . . . , 313_(C)-N, 313 _(D)-1, . . . , 313 _(D)-N, 313 _(E)-1, . . . , 313 _(E)-Nfrom a memory device (e.g., memory device(s) 116-1, . . . , 116-Nillustrated in FIG. 1) coupled to the storage controller 304 in responseto a request from the orchestration controller 306. The media controllercan subsequently cause the blocks of data 311 _(A)-1, . . . , 311_(A)-N, 311 _(B)-1, . . . , 311 _(B)-N, 311 _(C)-1, . . . , 311 _(C)-N,311 _(D)-1, . . . , 311 _(D)-N, 311 _(E)-1, . . . , 311 _(E)-N and/orlogical records 313 _(A)-1, . . . , 313 _(A)-N, 313 _(B)-1, . . . , 313_(B)-N, 313 _(C)-1, . . . , 313 _(C)-N, 313 _(D)-1, . . . , 313 _(D)-N,313 _(E)-1, . . . , 313 _(E)-N to be transferred to the computing tiles310-1, . . . , 310-N and/or the orchestration controller 306.

Similarly, the media controller 312 can be configured to receive blocksof data 311 _(A)-1, . . . , 311 _(A)-N, 311 _(B)-1, . . . , 311 _(B)-N,311 _(C)-1, . . . , 311 _(C)-N, 311 _(D)-1, . . . , 311 _(D)-N, 311_(E)-1, . . . , 311 _(E)-N and/or logical records 313 _(A)-1, . . . ,313 _(A)-N, 313 _(B)-1, . . . , 313 _(B)-N, 313 _(C)-1, . . . , 313_(C)-N, 313 _(D)-1, . . . , 313 _(D)-N, 313 _(E)-1, . . . , 313 _(E)-Nfrom the computing tiles 310 and/or the orchestration controller 306.The media controller can subsequently cause the blocks of data 311_(A)-1, . . . , 311 _(A)-N, 311 _(B)-1, . . . , 311 _(B)-N, 311 _(C)-1,. . . , 311 _(C)-N, 311 _(D)-1, . . . , 311 _(D)-N, 311 _(E)-1, . . . ,311 _(E)-N and/or logical records 313 _(A)-1, . . . 313 _(A)-N, 313_(B)-1, . . . 313 _(B)-N, 313 _(C)-1, . . . 313 _(C)-N, 313 _(D)-1, . .. , 313 _(D)-N, 313 _(E)-1, . . . , 313 _(E)-N to be transferred to amemory device coupled to the storage controller 304.

The blocks of data 311 can be approximately 4 kilobytes in size and canbe processed in a streaming manner by the computing tiles 310-1, . . . ,310-N in response to one or more commands generated by the orchestrationcontroller 306. In some embodiments, processing the blocks 311 of datacan include reducing a size and/or quantity of data associated with theblocks of data 311. For example, the computing tiles 310-1, . . . ,310-N can, in response to commands from the orchestration controller306, perform operations on the blocks of data 311 to remove unwanteddata, extract relevant data, or otherwise parse the blocks of data 311to reduce a size or quantity of data associated therewith. Embodimentsare not so limited, however, and, in some embodiments, the computingtiles 310-1, . . . , 310-N can, in response to commands from theorchestration controller 306, perform arithmetic, logical, or otheroperations on the blocks of data 311. For example, the computing tiles310-1, . . . , 310-N can, in response to commands from the orchestrationcontroller 306, process blocks of data 311, generate logical records313, and/or transfer the logical records to a location external to thecomputing tiles 310.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate various examples of a functional block diagram inthe form of an apparatus including a storage controller 404 inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. InFIGS. 4A-4C, a media controller 412 is in communication with a pluralityof computing tiles 410, a NoC 408, and an orchestration controller 406,which is communication with input/output (I/O) buffers 422. Althougheight (8) discrete computing tiles 410 are shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, it willbe appreciated that embodiments are not limited to a storage controller404 that includes eight discrete computing tiles 410. For example, thestorage controller 404 can include one or more computing tiles 410,depending on characteristics of the storage controller 404 and/oroverall system in which the storage controller 404 is deployed.

As shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, the media controller 412 can include a directmemory access (DMA) component 418 and a DMA communication subsystem 419.The DMA 418 can facilitate communication between the media controller418 and memory device(s), such as the memory devices 116-1, . . . ,116-N illustrated in FIG. 1, coupled to the storage controller 404independent of a central processing unit of a host, such as the host 102illustrated in FIG. 1. The DMA communication subsystem 419 can be acommunication subsystem such as a crossbar (“XBAR”), a network on achip, or other communication subsystem that allows for interconnectionand interoperability between the media controller 412, the storagedevice(s) coupled to the storage controller 404, and/or the computingtiles 410.

In some embodiments, the NoC 408 can facilitate visibility betweenrespective address spaces of the computing tiles 410. For example, eachcomputing tile 410-1, . . . , 410-8 can, responsive to receipt of data(e.g., a file), store the data in a memory resource (e.g., in thecomputing tile memory 548 or the computing tile memory 638 illustratedin FIGS. 5 and 6, herein) of the computing tile 410. The computing tiles410 can associate an address (e.g., a physical address) corresponding toa location in the computing tile 410 memory resource in which the datais stored. In addition, the computing tile 410 can parse (e.g., break)the address associated with the data into logical blocks.

In some embodiments, the zeroth logical block associated with the datacan be transferred to a processing device or “processing unit” (e.g.,the reduced instruction set computing (RISC) device 536 or the RISCdevice 636 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, herein). A particular computingtile (e.g., computing tile 410-2) can be configured to recognize that aparticular set of logical addresses are accessible to that computingtile 410-2, while other computing tiles (e.g., computing tile 410-3,410-4, etc.) can be configured to recognize that different sets oflogical addresses are accessible to those computing tiles 410. Statedalternatively, a first computing tile (e.g., the computing tile 410-2)can have access to a first set of logical addresses associated with thatcomputing tile 410-2, and a second computing tile (e.g., the computingtile 410-3) can have access to a second set of logical addressassociated therewith, etc.

If data corresponding to the second set of logical addresses (e.g., thelogical addresses accessible by the second computing tile 410-3) isrequested at the first computing tile (e.g., the computing tile 410-2),the NoC 408 can facilitate communication between the first computingtile (e.g., the computing tile 410-2) and the second computing tile(e.g., the computing tile 410-3) to allow the first computing tile(e.g., the computing tile 410-2) to access the data corresponding to thesecond set of logical addresses (e.g., the set of logical addressesaccessible by the second computing tile 410-3). That is, the NoC 408 canfacilitate communication between the computing tiles 410 to allowsaddress spaces of the computing tiles 410 to be visible to one another.

In some embodiments, communication between the computing tiles 410 tofacilitate address visibility can include receiving, by an event queue(e.g., the event queue 532 and 632 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6) of thefirst computing tile, a message requesting access to the datacorresponding to the second set of logical addresses, loading therequested data into a memory resource (e.g., the computing tile memory538 and 638 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, herein) of the first computingtile, and transferring the requested data to a message buffer (e.g., themessage buffer 534 and 634 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, herein). Oncethe data has been buffered by the message buffer, the data can betransferred to the second computing tile via the NoC 408.

In other embodiments, an application requesting data that is stored inthe computing tiles 410 can know which computing tiles 410 include thedata requested. In this example, the application can request the datafrom the relevant computing tile 410 and/or the address may be loadedinto multiple computing tiles 410 and accessed by the applicationrequesting the data via the NoC 408.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the orchestration controller 406 comprises discretecircuitry that is physically separate from the NoC 408. The NoC 408 canbe a communication subsystem that is provided as one or more integratedcircuits that allows communication between the computing tiles 410, themedia controller 412, and/or the orchestration controller 406.Non-limiting examples of a NoC 408 can include a XBAR or othercommunications subsystem that allows for interconnection and/orinteroperability of the orchestration controller 406, the computingtiles 410, and/or the media controller 412.

As described above, responsive to receipt of a command generated by theorchestration controller 406 and/or the NoC 408, performance ofoperations to extract relevant data from blocks of data streamed throughthe computing tiles 410 can be realized.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the orchestration controller 406 is resident on oneof the computing tiles 410-1 among the plurality of computing tiles410-1, . . . , 410-8. As used herein, the term “resident on” refers tosomething that is physically located on a particular component. Forexample, the orchestration controller 406 being “resident on” one of thecomputing tiles 410 refers to a condition in which the orchestrationcontroller 406 is physically coupled to a particular computing tile. Theterm “resident on” may be used interchangeably with other terms such as“deployed on” or “located on,” herein.

As described above, responsive to receipt of a command generated by thecomputing tile 410-1/orchestration controller 406 and/or the NoC 408,performance of operations to extract relevant data from blocks of datastreamed through the computing tiles 410 can be realized.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the orchestration controller 406 is resident on theNoC 408. In some embodiments, providing the orchestration controller 406as part of the NoC 408 results in a tight coupling of the orchestrationcontroller 406 and the NoC 408, which can result in reduced timeconsumption to perform operations using the orchestration controller406.

As described above, responsive to receipt of a command generated by theorchestration controller 406 and/or the NoC 408, performance ofoperations to extract relevant data from blocks of data streamed throughthe computing tiles 410 can be realized.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram in the form of a computing tile 510 inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. Asshown in FIG. 5, the computing tile 510 can include a system event queue530, an event queue 532, and a message buffer 534. The computing tile510 can further include a processing device such as a reducedinstruction set computing (RISC) device 536, a computing tile memory 538portion, and a direct memory access buffer 539. The RISC device 536 canbe a processing resource that can employ a reduced instruction setarchitecture (ISA) such as a RISC-V ISA, however, embodiments are notlimited to RISC-V ISAs and other processing devices and/or ISAs can beused.

The system event queue 530, the event queue 532, and the message buffer534 can be in communication with an orchestration controller such as theorchestration controller 106, 206, 306, and 406 illustrated in FIGS.1-4, respectively. In some embodiments, the system event queue 530, theevent queue 532, and the message buffer 534 can be in directcommunication with the orchestration controller, or the system eventqueue 530, the event queue 532, and the message buffer 534 can be incommunication with a network on a chip such as the NoC 108, 208, and 308illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, respectively, which can further be incommunication with the orchestration controller.

The system event queue 530, the event queue 532, and the message buffer534 can receive messages and/or commands from the orchestrationcontroller and/or can send messages and/or commands to the orchestrationcontroller to control operation of the computing tile 510 to performoperations on blocks of data (e.g., blocks of data 211 and 311illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, herein) that are processed by thecomputing tile 510. In some embodiments, the commands and/or messagescan include messages and/or commands to allocate or de-allocateresources available to the computing tile 510 during performance of theoperations. In addition, the commands and/or messages can includecommands and/or messages to synchronize operation of the computing tile510 with other computing tiles deployed in a storage controller (e.g.,the storage controller 104, 204, 304, and 404 illustrated in FIG. 1-4,respectively).

For example, the system event queue 530, the event queue 532, and themessage buffer 534 can facilitate communication between the computingtile 510 and the orchestration controller to cause the computing tile510 to process blocks of data to reduce a size and/or quantity of dataassociated with the blocks of data. In a non-limiting example, thesystem event queue 530, the event queue 532, and the message buffer 534can process commands and/or messages received from the orchestrationcontroller to cause the computing tile 510 to perform an operation onthe block of data in which at least some of the data is ordered,reordered, removed, or discarded to selectively remove or otherwisealter portions of the data prior to transferring a reduced data objectout of the computing tile 510. This can allow for relevant data to beextracted from the block of data prior to the data being transferred tocircuitry external to the computing tile 510 such as the orchestrationcontroller, a NoC, or a host (e.g., the host 102 illustrated in FIG. 1,herein).

The system event queue 530 can receive interrupt messages from theorchestration controller or NoC. The interrupt messages can be processedby the system event queue 532 to cause a command or message sent fromthe orchestration controller or the NoC to be immediately executed. Forexample, the interrupt message(s) can instruct the system event queue532 to cause the computing tile 510 to abort operation of pendingcommands or messages and instead execute a new command or messagereceived from the orchestration controller or the NoC. In someembodiments, the new command or message can involve a command or messageto initiate an operation to process, using the computing tile 510, oneor more blocks of data to extract relevant information therefrom, or tootherwise decrease a size or amount of data associated with the block ofdata.

The event queue 532 can receive messages that can be processed serially.For example, the event queue 532 can receive messages and/or commandsfrom the orchestration controller or the NoC and can process themessages received in a serial manner such that the messages areprocessed in the order in which they are received. Non-limiting examplesof messages that can be received and processed by the event queue caninclude request messages from the orchestration controller and/or theNoC to initiate processing of a block of data (e.g., a remote procedurecall on the computing tile 510), request messages from other computingtiles to provide or alter the contents of a particular memory locationin the computing tile memory 538 of the computing tile that receives themessage request (e.g., messages to initiate remote read or writeoperations amongst the computing tiles), synchronization messagerequests from other computing tiles to synchronize processing of blocksof data among the computing tiles, etc.

The message buffer 534 can comprise a buffer region to buffer data to betransferred out of the computing tile 510 to circuitry external to thecomputing tile 510 such as the orchestration controller, the NoC, and/orthe host. In some embodiments, the message buffer 534 can operate in aserial fashion such that data is transferred from the buffer out of thecomputing tile 510 in the order in which it is received by the messagebuffer 534. The message buffer 534 can further provide routing controland/or bottleneck control by controlling a rate at which the data istransferred out of the message buffer 534. For example, the messagebuffer 534 can be configured to transfer data out of the computing tile510 at a rate that allows the data to be transferred out of thecomputing tile 510 without creating data bottlenecks or routing issuesfor the orchestration controller, the NoC, and/or the host.

The RISC device 536 can be in communication with the system event queue530, the event queue 532, and the message buffer 534 and can handle thecommands and/or messages received by the system event queue 530, theevent queue 532, and the message buffer 534 to facilitate performance ofoperations on the blocks of data received by the computing tile 510. Forexample, the RISC device 536 can include circuitry configured to processcommands and/or messages to cause a size or quantity of data associatedwith a block of data received by the computing tile 510 to be reduced.The RISC device 536 may include a single core or may be a multi-coreprocessor.

The computing tile memory 538 can, in some embodiments, be a memoryresource such as random-access memory (e.g., RAM, SRAM, etc.).Embodiments are not so limited, however, and the computing tile memory538 can include various registers, caches, buffers, and/or memory arrays(e.g., 1T1C, 2T2C, 3T, etc. DRAM arrays). The computing tile memory 538can be configured to receive blocks of data from, for example, a memorydevice such as the memory devices 116-1, . . . , 116-N illustrated inFIG. 1, herein. In some embodiments, the computing tile memory 538 canhave a size of approximately 256 kilobytes (KB), however, embodimentsare not limited to this particular size, and the computing tile memory538 can have a size greater than, or less than, 256 KB.

The computing tile memory 538 can be partitioned into one or moreaddressable memory regions. As shown in FIG. 5, the computing tilememory 538 can be partitioned into addressable memory regions so thatvarious types of data can be stored therein. For example, one or morememory regions can store instructions (“INSTR”) 541 used by thecomputing tile memory 538, one or more memory regions can store a blockof data 543-1, . . . , 543-N (e.g., a block of data retrieved from thememory device(s)), and/or one or more memory regions can serve as alocal memory (“LOCAL MEM.”) 545 portion of the computing tile memory538. Although twenty (20) distinct memory regions are shown in FIG. 5,it will be appreciated that the computing tile memory 538 can bepartitioned into any number of distinct memory regions.

As discussed above, the blocks of data can be retrieved from the memorydevice(s) in response to messages and/or commands generated by theorchestration controller (e.g., the orchestration controller 106, 206,306, 406 illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, herein). In some embodiments, thecommands and/or messages can be processed by a media controller such asthe media controller 112, 212, 312, or 412 illustrated in FIGS. 1-4,respectively. Once the blocks of data are received by the computing tile510, they can be buffered by the DMA buffer 539 and subsequently storedin the computing tile memory 538.

As a result, in some embodiments, the computing tile 510 can providedata driven performance of operations on blocks of data received fromthe memory device(s). For example, the computing tile 510 can beginperforming operations on blocks of data (e.g., operations to reduce asize of the block of data, to extract relevant information from theblock of data, to remove irrelevant information from the block of data,etc.) received from the memory device(s) in response to receipt of theblock of data.

For example, because of the non-deterministic nature of data transferfrom the memory device(s) to the computing tile 510 (e.g., because someblocks of data may take longer to arrive at the computing tile 510 dudeto error correction operations performed by a media controller prior totransfer of the block of data to the computing tile 510, etc.), datadriven performance of the operations on block of data can improvecomputing performance in comparison to approaches that do not functionin a data driven manner.

In some embodiments, the orchestration controller can send a command ormessage that is received by the system event queue 530 of the computingtile 510. As described above, the command or message can be an interruptthat instructs the computing tile 510 to request a block of data andperform an operation on the block of data to reduce the size or aquantity of data associated with the block of data. However, the blockof data may not immediately be ready to be sent from the memory deviceto the computing tile 510 due to the non-deterministic nature of datatransfers from the memory device(s) to the computing tile 510. However,once the block of data is received by the computing tile 510, thecomputing tile 510 can immediately begin performing the operation toreduce the size or quantity of data associated with the block of data.Stated alternatively, the computing tile 510 can begin performingoperations on the block of data responsive to receipt of the block ofdata without requiring an additional command or message to causeperformance of the operation on the block of data.

In some embodiments, the operation can be performed by selectivelymoving data around in the computing tile memory 538 to extract relevantdata from the block of data or to remove irrelevant data from the blockof data. In a non-limiting example in which two columns of data A and Bare requested from a block of data containing three columns of data A,B, and C, the block of data containing all three columns can betransferred to a first block (e.g., block 543-1) of the computing tilememory 538.

The RISC device 536 can execute instructions to cause the first twocolumns A and B (e.g., the requested or relevant data) of the block ofdata containing the three columns to be selectively moved to a differentpartition of the computing tile memory (e.g., to block 543-N). At thisstage, the “filtered” block of data (e.g., block 543-N) that containsonly the relevant or requested columns A and B can be transferred to themessage buffer 534 to be transferred to circuitry external to thecomputing tile 510.

As the filtered block of data is transferred to the message buffer 534,a subsequent block of data can be transferred from the DMA buffer 539 tothe computing tile memory 538 and an operation to reduce a size orquantity of data associated with the subsequent block of data can beinitiated in the computing tile memory 538. By having a subsequent blockof data buffered into the computing tile 510 prior to completion of theoperation on the preceding block of data, blocks of data can becontinuously streamed through the computing tile in the absence ofadditional commands or messages from the orchestration controller toinitiate operations on subsequent blocks of data. In addition, bypreemptively buffering subsequent blocks of data into the DMA buffer539, delays due to the non-deterministic nature of data transfer fromthe memory device(s) to the computing tile 510 can be mitigated as theblocks of data are operated on while being streamed through thecomputing tile 510.

In another non-limiting example, the block of data can include one ormore comma-separated value (CSV) files. If particular strings orparticular data are desired from the CSV file, the block of datacontaining the entire CSV file can be stored in a particular partition(e.g., block 543-1) of the computing tile memory 538. The RISC device536 can execute instructions to cause the particular strings orparticular data (e.g., the requested or relevant data) to be moved to adifferent partition (e.g., block 543-N) of the computing tile memory538. At this stage, the “filtered” block of data (e.g., block 543-N)that contains only the relevant or requested strings or data can betransferred to the message buffer 534 to be transferred to circuitryexternal to the computing tile 510.

As the filtered block of data is transferred to the message buffer 534,a subsequent block of data can be transferred from the DMA buffer 539 tothe computing tile memory 538 and an operation to reduce a size orquantity of data associated with the subsequent block of data can beinitiated in the computing tile memory 538. Although described above inthe context of a “filtered” block of data, embodiments are not solimited, and the computing tile 510 can perform other operations, suchas operations in which at least some of the data is ordered, reordered,removed, or discarded, arithmetic operations, and/or logical operationson the block(s) of data in a similar manner.

When the data (e.g., the data that has been operated on) is to be movedout of the computing tile 510 to circuitry external to the computingtile 510 (e.g., to the NoC, the orchestration controller, and/or thehost), the RISC device 536 can send a command and/or a message to theorchestration controller, which can, in turn send a command and/or amessage to request the data from the computing tile memory 538.

Responsive to the command and/or message to request the data, thecomputing tile memory 538 can transfer the data to a desired location(e.g., to the NoC, the orchestration tile, and/or the host). Forexample, responsive to a command to request the data that has beenoperated on, the data that has been operated on can be transferred tothe message buffer 534 and subsequently transferred out of the computingtile 510. In some embodiments, the data transferred from the computingtile memory 538 to the NoC, the orchestration controller, and/or thehost can be data that has had an operation performed thereon to reducean original size of the data (e.g., to reduce the size of the block ofdata received by the computing tile 510 from the memory device(s)) byremoving irrelevant data from the block of data and/or by extractingrelevant data from the block of data.

FIG. 6 is another block diagram in the form of a computing tile 610 inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. Asshown in FIG. 6, the computing tile 610 can include a system event queue630, an event queue 632, and a message buffer 634. The computing tile610 can further include an instruction cache 635, a data cache 637, aprocessing device or “processing unit” such as a reduced instruction setcomputing (RISC) device 636, a computing tile memory 638 portion, and adirect memory access buffer 639. The computing tile 610 shown in FIG. 6can be analogous to the computing tile 510 illustrated in FIG. 5,however, the computing tile 610 illustrated in FIG. 6 further includesthe instruction cache 635 and/or the data cache 637.

The instruction cache 635 and/or the data cache 637 can be smaller insize than the computing tile memory 638. For example, the computing tilememory can be approximately 256 KB while the instruction cache 635and/or the data cache 637 can be approximately 32 KB in size.Embodiments are not limited to these particular sizes, however, so longas the instruction cache 635 and/or the data cache 637 are smaller insize than the computing tile memory 638.

In some embodiments, the instruction cache 635 can store and/or buffermessages and/or commands transferred between the RISC device 636 to thecomputing tile memory 638, while the data cache 637 can store and/orbuffer data transferred between the computing tile memory 638 and theRISC device 636.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram representing an example method 750 for storagedevice operation orchestration in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure. At block 752, the method 750 caninclude receiving, by a plurality of computing devices associated with afirst controller, a block of data from a memory device coupled to thecomputing devices. The computing devices can be analogous to thecomputing tiles 110, 210, 310, 410, 510, and 610 illustrated in FIGS.1-6, herein. The first controller can be analogous to thee storagecontroller 104, 204, 304, and 404 illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, herein. Thememory device can be analogous to the memory device(s) 116-1, . . . ,116-N illustrated in FIG. 1, herein. In some embodiments, the blocks ofdata can be transferred from the memory device to the storage controllerusing a third controller (e.g., a media controller such as the mediacontroller 112, 212, 312, or 412 illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, herein).

At block 754, the method 750 can include causing, by a second controllercoupled to the plurality of computing devices, performance of anoperation on the block of data to reduce a size of the block of datafrom a first size to a second size. The second controller can beanalogous to the orchestration controller 106, 206, 306, 406 illustratedin FIGS. 1-4, herein. The operation can, in some embodiments, comprise afiltering operation, as described above in connection with FIGS. 1-6.However, the embodiments are not so limited, and the operations caninclude an operation in which at least some data of the block isordered, reordered, removed, or discarded. The operation can alsoinclude converting the blocks of data to a logical record word asdescribed above in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3.

At block 756, the method 750 can include transferring the reduced sizeblock of data to a host coupleable to the first controller. The host canbe analogous to the host 102 illustrated in FIG. 1, herein. In someembodiments, the method 750 can further include allocating, by thesecond controller, resources corresponding to respective computingdevices among the plurality of computing devices to perform theoperation on the block of data and/or managing, using the secondcontroller, computing resources associated with the first controller, asdescribed above in connection with FIGS. 1-4.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that anarrangement calculated to achieve the same results can be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coveradaptations or variations of one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is to be understood that the above description has beenmade in an illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combinationof the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specificallydescribed herein will be apparent to those of skill in the art uponreviewing the above description. The scope of the one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure includes other applications inwhich the above structures and processes are used. Therefore, the scopeof one or more embodiments of the present disclosure should bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullrange of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, some features are groupedtogether in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the disclosed embodiments of the presentdisclosure have to use more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matterlies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus,the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a host; a memory device; and a controller coupled to the host and the memory device, wherein the controller is configured to: receive a block of data from the memory device; perform an operation on the block of data to reduce a size of the block of data from a first size to a second size; and transfer the block of data having the reduced size associated therewith to the host.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to convert the block of data to a logical record as part of performance of the operation on the block of data to reduce the size of the block of data.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises: a first controller portion to request the block of data from the memory device; a plurality of computing devices that each comprise a processing unit and a cache to perform the operation on the block of data; and a second controller portion to control the plurality of computing devices to perform the operation on the block of data.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the second controller portion comprises a computing device that is one of the computing devices of the plurality.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein the second controller portion is configured to allocate and de-allocate computing resources to the plurality of computing devices to perform the operation on the block of data.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to transfer the block of data having the reduced size associated therewith to the memory device.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operation on the block of data comprises a filter operation.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operation on the block of data comprises a gather-scatter operation.
 9. A method, comprising: receiving, by a plurality of computing devices coupled to a first controller, a block of data from a memory device coupled to the computing devices; causing, by a second controller coupled to the plurality of computing devices, performance of an operation on the block of data to reduce a size of the block of data from a first size to a second size; and transferring the block of data having the second size to a host couplable to the first controller.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising causing, using a third controller, the blocks of data to be transferred from the memory device to the first controller.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein performance of the operation on the block of data further comprises performing a filtering operation on the block of data.
 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising converting the blocks of data to a logical record as part of performance of the operation on the block of data.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising allocating, by the second controller, resources corresponding to respective computing devices among the plurality of computing devices to perform the operation on the block of data.
 14. The method of claim 9, further comprising managing, using the second controller, computing resources associated with the first controller.
 15. An apparatus, comprising: a memory device; a first controller coupled to the memory device and comprising a plurality of computing devices; and a second controller coupled to the memory device and the first controller, wherein the first controller is configured to: receive a block of data from the memory device; perform an operation on the block of data to reduce a size of the block of data from a first size to a second size; and cause the block of data having the reduced size associated therewith to be transferred to circuitry external to the storage controller.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: each of the plurality of computing devices comprise a processing unit and a memory array configured as a cache for the processing unit, and the processing unit of each computing device is configured with a reduced instruction set architecture.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first controller is configured to perform the operation on the block of data by performance of operations in which at least some of the data is ordered, reordered, removed, or discarded.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising logic coupled to the first controller and configured to perform one or more additional operations on the block of data prior to an operation performed by one of the computing devices.
 19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the operation on the block of data comprises a filter operation or a gather-scatter operation, or both.
 20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first controller comprises: a first controller portion to request the block of data from the memory device; a plurality of computing devices that each comprise a processing unit and a cache to perform the operation on the block of data; and a second controller portion to control the plurality of computing devices to perform the operation on the block of data, wherein the second controller portion is configured to allocate and de-allocate computing resources to the plurality of computing devices to perform the operation on the block of data. 